Park Ranger In-Service and Academy Training

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The work that park rangers perform may encompass everything from law enforcement to cultural interpretation, with smaller, less visited parks requiring rangers to serve in a number of roles; and larger, more popular parks calling on rangers to serve in a more specialized capacity. Whether working for a local, state or national park, training requirements will depend on the nature of the ranger’s role and on the needs of the location.

Just as the duties that park rangers perform are often varied and diverse, even within a specific park, so too are the training requirements of today’s park rangers.

Park ranger training may be focused on one of more of the following areas:

Law enforcement: Focuses on enforcing park regulations and local/state/federal laws

These programs generally consist of no fewer than 400 hours of coursework and practical exercises designed to prepare graduates to competently make arrests, perform criminal investigations and assist in executing warrants. Beginning in August of 2015, all seven Seasonal Law Enforcement Training academy programs will involve no fewer than 650 hours of coursework and practical training exercises.

Completing a Seasonal Law Enforcement Training program is a very important step to becoming a seasonal law enforcement ranger, but it does not satisfy all NPS education and experience requirements. Graduates are only eligible to apply for Type II seasonal commissioned positions with the National Park Service after qualifying through education, or a combination of education and experience.

Seasonal Law Enforcement Training programs result in credits that can be applied toward NPS post-secondary education requirements, which stipulate the completion of a bachelor’s degree if qualifying through education, or two years of post-secondary education and one year of GS-4 level experience if qualifying through a combination of education and experience. Some SLETP programs are offered as an embedded component of a degree program designed to meet NPS post-secondary education requirements.

Year-round law enforcement rangers serve as fully commissioned peace officers. These rangers must attend training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia. The NPS has a full-time staff at the FLETC to manage training for park ranger trainees. The FLETC provides park rangers the full range of law enforcement skills needed to enforce state and federal laws within NPS properties.

State Park Ranger In-Service and Academy Training

Park ranger training at the state level is quite varied, with much of the training dependent upon the scope of the park ranger job.

Some states, like Missouri, recognize park rangers as commissioned peace officers and therefore require the completion of a POST certified law enforcement academy program. POST training requirements include a minimum number of contact hours (usually about 600) to meet the standards for certification as a peace officer. In Missouri, park ranger recruits must also complete supplemental training of 400 hours designed to better prepare them for a career in law enforcement. Supplemental training includes study in such areas as:

Legal studies

Ethics and professionalism

Firearms

Patrol

Crisis intervention

Criminal investigations

Defensive tactics

Training for Maryland park rangers, on the other hand, requires the completion of a distinctly different curriculum, which includes:

Maryland Office of Tourism Development Welcome Center National Certification Training Program

In-service test on Maryland Park Service and Park Ranger History

Two-day search and rescue course

40-hour CPR/First Responder entry-level course

Incident command courses

Seasonal Interpretation School to demonstrate expertise in interpretive skills

Six-hour Voluntary Compliance course to demonstrate skills in the workplace

Further, park rangers are required to complete annual, in-service training. For example, Missouri park rangers must complete at least 48 hours of continuing education to maintain their peace officer status, which must include at least 4 hours in all 4 core curricula areas:

Legal studies

Interpersonal perspectives

Technical studies

Skill development

Other examples of academy and in-service training for state park rangers include:

Florida: Park ranger training in Florida includes a two-week training program through the Florida Park Service Ranger Academy.

Georgia: New park rangers who are not POST certified must attend an 11-week basic law enforcement training course upon being hired. From there, all park ranger cadets must complete 12 weeks of mandated law enforcement training at the Georgia Public Safety Training facility in Georgia. In-service training for Georgia’s conservation rangers includes at least 20 hours of training.

Alabama: All Alabama State park rangers must complete the 12-week Alabama POST academy.

New York: All New York park police recruits must complete a six-month residential training program at the State Park Police Academy in Albany County. Classroom education during the academy training period consists of topics such as criminal investigations, park and recreation law, criminal procedure law, and penal law. Hands-on training is focused on firearms, first response, boat operation, rope rescue, and emergency vehicle operations, among others. Following academy training, new recruits must complete a 10-week field training program.

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